Perhaps it is easy to be generally negative about all things British racing as it generally pays to be cynical in this game as punters.
If there’s doom and gloom surrounding a Royal Ascot largely lost in the mainstream sporting discourse because of World Cup fever then we might as well pack up and go home.
Yes, things weren’t perfect but top-class sport is filled with imperfections. The draw bias was a source of annoyance all week for connections.
Apart from yesterday or being an exceptional horse in the case of the Queen Mary Stakes and Albany Stakes winner, it was impossible to win from a low berth.
Flora Of Bermuda running after being clearly upset in the stalls in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes left a sour taste and connections of American horse Bacio could consider themselves fortunate to keep the race after weighing in light, initially.
But this was a far cry from the farce that has preceded the British racing Flat season. Newmarket’s Guineas meeting had a high-draw bias. At least Royal Ascot accurately disclosed theirs on each day of the festival.
Scandinavia (right) pipped Trawlerman in a thrilling Ascot Gold Cup on Thursday
Ombudsman was a sensational winner of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has 100 Royal Ascot winners and jockey Ryan Moore was also in top form
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What does Royal Ascot get right that the rest of British racing is missing?
Chester was a disgrace when the bend paused racing on its big May meeting for more than an hour. William Haggas pulled all his runners.
We almost had Friendly Soul swallowed up by a hole at Haydock on Temple Stakes Saturday. The racecourse is still closed.
And then we had overwatered slop at Epsom for the Derby and a Coronation Cup that was run on what was officially described as good-to-soft won by a mudlark in a Group One mile-and-a-half race that the field were strung out as if it was the Scottish Grand National.
So, we must be in a dark place if we are prepared to throw any sort of shade on what is undisputably the crown jewels of British racing. It attracts international participants. The prize money is exceptional. It has royal approval and a clear identity.
The five days of racing are as deep and competitive as it gets. There’s no weak race. Big fields that give punters a terrific but brutal puzzle to solve. Subsequent winners will come from everywhere and it really is the starting point of seeing juveniles dazzle going into the second half of the season.
And all, mercifully, ran on good-to-firm ground without a quibble. Is it hard to decipher? Yes. Will there be hard-luck stories? Yes. But this is top-level racing as it should be. Hard and ultra-competitive. For punters and participants, alike. A place where the best beat the best.
Trainers such as Aidan O’Brien, Joseph O’Brien and William Haggas excelled themselves. George Boughey has a superstar in Bow Echo, who prevailed in an almighty tussle with Gstaad in the St James’s Palace Stakes – and may have another in Albany Stakes winner Libertango.
Both were ridden by talented teenager Billy Loughnane. He also won the Windsor Castle Stakes on King Of Loughlan at 33/1. He’s the kind of charismatic figure that racing craves. The next Frankie Dettori? That might be pushing it but Loughnane is an asset for sure.
Ryan Moore showed why he’s the best jockey in the business. Stunning rides aplenty. The one on Mission Central in the King Charles III Stakes and Victorious in the Queen Mary were just two worthy of a mention.
Kiwi jockey James McDonald showcased his talent and demonstrated why he’s highly regarded worldwide to a British audience.
Billy Loughnane (centre) had a great week and won the St James’s Palace Stakes on Bow Echo
Queen Camilla and King Charles present O’Brien with his 100-winners cloth
The big clashes in the big races delivered. All too often racing’s promotional sideshows supersede the main event. Not at Royal Ascot. This is all about the horses and Berkshire had them in abundance this week.
Ombudsman was electric in beating Minnie Hauk and Arc winner Daryz to retain his Prince of Wales’s Stakes crown. A sustained and withering run down the outer was a borderline 130 performance. It might have been the best effort seen on these shores since Cracksman won the Champion Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2017 and 2018 or when Baaeed won the Juddmonte International in 2022.
When the ground is fast and there’s a true pace to aim at, Ombudsman is borderline unbeatable at places like York and Ascot. He’s one of the best racehorses in the world.
Then there was the Gold Cup. A terrific dual between Aidan O’Brien’s Scandinavia and John Gosden’s defending champion Trawlerman.
The staying division has fallen out of fashion in recent years, so this humdinger was a welcome shot in the arm, with the younger horse Scandinavia prevailing.
There is a niggling rivalry between Gosden and O’Brien – but both were equally, and predictably, gracious in defeat and victory. This epitomised top-class racing.
It was also fitting that a hardy stayer gave O’Brien his century of Royal Ascot winners. A phenomenal achievement, while Gosden can be proud of his big hitters in Ombudsman and Trawlerman running excellent races again.
Joseph O’Brien is a rapidly emerging force in the Flat game and had a great Royal Ascot
Trainer William Haggas enjoyed a sensational week, with Almareq’s win extra special
Venetian Sun won a thrilling Commonwealth Cup and is undoubtedly a top sprinter for Karl Burke. Precise backed up her Irish Guineas success by claiming the Coronation Stakes in gritty fashion.
Almeraq is a progressive sprinter that the Brits need in the six-furlong division. He was a 25-1 outsider and largely unproven in this grade but won a thriller in defeating horses trained from Australia, Japan and France in a four-way photo finish.
He had a crashing fall in York last season which jockey Jim Crowley is still recovering from. The patience of trainer Haggas and all at Somerville Lodge to get this horse to win at the top level and restore his confidence was sublime. It was an astonishing training performance.
There were countless positives to take from Royal Ascot this week and they should be celebrated. It’s the best British racing has to offer and may it continue to prosper.
